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Thursday, January 15, 2009

The Craftsman Challenge: Round 2

There are some things that just refuse to be pinned down -- like the meaning of life. And Craftsman houses.

I recently lamented my inability to adequately photograph the splendor of South Pasadena's many Craftsman homes. Shooting the moon without a zoom or a tripod is easier. Trying to effectively explain what a newborn baby's head smells like is easier. In real life, this house is a veritable wonder of texture and light, a majestic woodsy palace fit for a Goblin King. Here, in picture form, it's just a collection of pretty windows lost in the dappled shade. Some blame the recessed porches for creating too much shadow. Others curse the light bounced from the pitched roof. I just think all of these structures are equipped with some kind of magical early 20th Century cloaking device that won't allow reproduction in any form.

But kudos to my fellow San Gabriel Valley bloggers for stepping up to the challenge! Petrea presents a world-class effort here and follows up here, Ben gives us a nifty shot here, Mister Earl is on a roll here and here and with a most lighthearted touch here, Sarah Jane over at Hatching a Patch takes the initiative with this great entry , GOSP reader Barbra jumped right in with these lovely shots on her blog, and Keith may have earned the title Craftsman Smackdown King with this great shot although Elaine way up north in Willits throws it down pretty hard with this fantastic image. Nice job, gang. But we all still know that Craftsman homes belong to a rare breed of California superstars: they really do look better in person.

It's SO much nicer, Cafe. This is why I am filled with consternation. I am surrounded by these beauties -- that I can't quite present to the rest of the world. It looks nice in the picture but it's really wonderful in real life.

I like the guard sparrow diligently standing watch on the driveway ready to prevent any post-'64 automobiles from entering the driveway.

Interesting feature on the left side of the porch. Does it seem odd that there's an arch at the end of the porch? Not a typical craftsman feature. But, that's part of the charm of craftsman houses. No two are alike.

I love your first sentence. ...refuse to be pinned down - like the meaning of life. Too right!

I love this photograph. I clicked on it to enlarge and then you see so much more detail but actually I love the sunlight, it gives just that feeling you want - pretty windows in dappled shade. Goodness, Laurie, I can even SEE the Goblin King.

These Craftsman homes you are showing us are wonderful. My sort of place. I lived in a wooden house in Australia and this rather reminds me of it.

PA - I know there's an architect's definition for craftsman homes. But, in my mind, they are wood structures with wood siding, gently pitched roofs, heavy timbers including support posts, wide eves, with large front porches. Inside they rely on wood finishes with built in bookcases, heavy moulding, and open rooms. I've never owned one, but have always desired to. My grandparents owned a 2 story craftsman that was destroyed in the '71 Sylmar earthquake. It had the most beautiful wrap-around front porch. It had a feel, sound, and smell that is unique to this wonderful style of home.

Thanks for jumping into the challenge, Barbra! I love your shots -- and I updated the post to include you. (Hey, you should come out of lurking more often!)

PA, as for the porch question... I am certainly no expert but I believe a porch is to Craftsman architecture what shoulder pads were to 80s fashion. I don't think there was any book that said they MUST be included, but they are certainly part of the design ethos. The idea of living outside-to-inside was a huge part of the Craftsman tradition. I wrote about what little I know here, but this is a fantastic website on the history and diversity of the Arts and Crafts movement.

Dbdubya, I love that arch on this home's porch because it is so unusual.

Altadenahiker, I want to see your pictures. And I may have to go nudge K over at Jimsonweed to join in. Maybe we can lure him over to this part of town. (I might just bump into him if he shoots here at night! And hey, that's one way of getting to see a Craftsman porch... take picture at night when the porch light is on...)

Thanks for all the comments and participation, fine friends -- P and Mister E, you crack me up. Til tomorrow...

I'm looking to get the word out on a pretty unique wood light fixture circa 1910 that I helped a friend list on ebay this morning. It's a hard to find item and I'd love to see it go to a home owner and not just sit in an antique lighting shop. It's ebay auction # 300354751671

Search Glimpses of South Pasadena

Laurie Allee

Writer. Photographer. Mom.

The History of Glimpses

In December of 2007, after many years on the west side of Los Angeles (and at least a third of those years spent stuck in traffic on Pico Boulevard) my family settled into a happy little house in South Pasadena. This daily blog covered over 4 years as I put down roots in my new home town. While I no longer blog every single day, I add new posts every week.

About This Blog

The thumbnail view:

For over 4 years, I presented a picture a day from South Pasadena, California -- an incorporated city within the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. All photos up to November, 2008 were taken with a Fujifilm Finepix E900 camera. I added a Fujifilm Finepix S2000HD megazoom in December 2008, a Nikon D3100 in 2010 and a Lumix DMC-DS8 in 2011. I shot with them all. In August 2010 I joined the iPhone camera craze and included pictures captured by my phone. I regularly cropped images and used basic editing software to adjust the brightness, intensify the contrast, and increase color saturation. Other than that, all images came straight from the camera with minimal alteration. (If I couldn't have done it in a darkroom, I wouldn't do it with a computer.)

In 2012 I took a break from the blog. I came back in 2016 and now post weekly with images from my Nikon, Lumix and iPhone 6.

The bigger picture:

Consider it a love letter to the place I call home.

You can click on any picture to see a larger version.

All photos and prose on this blog copyright Laurie Allee. Reproduction without written permission is prohibited. (Plus, it's really uncool.)

LA: Other by Laurie Allee

LA:Other. Inside the City ... Outside the Box. Check out my LA Stories, Photos and Video.

Elsewhere...

May, 2016: Thanks to the dedicated group of you who have continued to email me about resurrecting Glimpses, I am back! Check weekly for new posts, and be sure to visit the brand new Glimpses of South Pasadena Community Forums and start a conversation.

July, 2014: It's been a long haitus but I'm ready to get back to my blogging roots! My new blog LA: Otheris officially launching in September. This blog will be very similar to Glimpses, but will include all of Southern California as a subject, not just my beloved back yard. I am also going to post a few video pieces as well as still photography, which will be cross posted on YouTube. (And, of course, there will be my usual commentary.) Also, as much as I loved daily blogging, I've got too much on my creative plate to keep it up at LA Other. Less is more, right?

Thank you Charlie's Coffee House for hosting my photo exhibit, South Pas: Observed. From October 2011 through January 2012 my pictures graced the walls of the best place in town to get a cup of coffee!

Read the nifty story on photo bloggers Petrea Burchard, Ben Wideman, Kat Likkel and little old me featured in the September, 2011 issue of Pasadena Magazine.

Great Books by Local Authors

Great Books by Local Authors

Great Books by Local Authors

Great Books by Local Bloggers

Novel lovers, look out! Everybody's favorite San Gabriel Valley daily photoblogger Petrea Burchard takes us on a journey back to King Arthur's 'hood in her wonderful debut novel Camelot and Vine. (If you don't fall madly in love with her smart-ass narrator, you definitely deserve to be put into an iron maiden.) Be sure to keep up with Petrea at her legendary blog, Pasadena Daily Photo, AKA: Living Vicuriously.

And while we're on the subject of great takes on old themes, be sure to pick up a copy of Margaret Finnegan's delightful debut novel, The Goddess Lounge -- undoubtedly the kookiest, most wonderful riff on Homer's Odyssey ever written. Margaret never ceases to inspire and make us laugh at her blog Finnegan Begin Again. Her book is magical, silly, smart and a wonderful love letter to the all the goddesses among us.

Kevin McCollister of East of West LA blows our minds with haunting images of Los Angeles. But since we can't put his blog on our coffee table, we can buy his fantastic book. I believe Kevin's images truly capture the quixotic and often heartbreaking soul of LA. Don't take my word for it, see what The LA Times had to say.